


Found Again

by Jadewrites



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: OC Guardian - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26644381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadewrites/pseuds/Jadewrites
Summary: Resurrected on the planet of Mars during the evacuation from the Darkness by her Ghost, a lone Exo begins the adventure to find out who she was in the past, what she was made for, and most importantly, what her destiny is in the war against the greatest threat to life as a whole.
Kudos: 2





	Found Again

**Chapter 1 - By the Traveler’s Light**

* * *

She opened her eyes to a red light, slowly feeling sensation come back. Confused, she blinked her eyes, clearing out the glare that obstructed her view, and let out a groan, moving slowly, getting a feel for where she was, what was going on, why?  
  
 _I’m… I don’t remember. What is wrong! I-_

“Snap to. Can you hear me?”  
  
Another groan, and she lifted her hand, blocking out the incoming light as her gaze fixed on a strange sight, a little drone floating before her, looking down with a single mechanical eye, looking almost relieved. It sighed, the shell surrounding it almost relaxing, and moved out of the way as she sat up. There was much more to take in, as she looked around, taking in the red landscape - a cave of some sort - and brushed the dust from herself, pausing when she saw her own hand.   
  
“What- What did you do to me?”   
  
Her hand was metal. She wasn’t supposed to be metal. In a panic, she stood, looking around at herself. Metal, metal. Her face, torso, legs, arms, everything was metal. A robot? She began to hyperventilate, or at least do so as best a mechanical body could, until the drone floated back before her.   
  
“Hey! Snap out of it! I promise you, I have an explanation. But it’s going to have to wait, it’s not safe around here.”   
  
Her gaze snapped to the drone, and her eyes narrowed, more curious than suspicious. She reached out a hand to touch its eye, poking it, and the drone recoiled, shell rip[pling with annoyance.   
  
“Easy there, I’m not a plaything!”  
  
She couldn't help but laugh, mostly out of nerves and shock than anything else. She took a deep breath, gripping her hand shut tight and spoke calmly.  
  
“Well then, if you think we should make such haste, you probably have some idea of where to go. Just… One question. What are you?”   
  
The drone turned, towards the mouth of the cave nearby, and then looked back at her.   
  
“I’ll explain as we walk. We need to get you somewhere safe, before something bad overruns us.”   
  
\---   
  
Mars. That’s where this drone - this Ghost - had found her corpse. She was an Exo, a human’s brain in a robot suit. The concept was foreign to her, but she was grateful, at least, that she still had her feeling of humanity. Still, she remembered nothing - no name, no past, no home. All she had was this Ghost who led her.   
  
“So this Traveler. He sent you after the Collapse to… Revive us?”   
  
“Yes. Ghosts find the Guardian they are bonded with, and bring them back into the Light. It’s never clear why we make the choices we do, but the Traveler told me to find you. I am your Ghost, and you are my Guardian.”   
  
Gunshots in the distance, and the Ghost froze, before looking around and swearing, changing course.   
  
“New plan! Looks like we’re going to have to go into the thick of another mess. You said you can’t remember anything, but if it comes down to it, you think you can fight?”   
  
There was a reflex in her hand, flexing at her hip, and she lifted it, taking another look at it, trying to visualize something else there. Something more organic. But she clenched her fist, lowering it, and nodded as she followed the Ghost.   
  
“I think something of me remembers. Let’s get my hands on a gun and find out. Keep talking while we go, your company’s nice.”   
  
\---

Their chatter came to a close as they walked up the stems of the BrayTech ruins, peeking around corners on the lookout for enemies of some kind. But all was quiet, not a soul about, and the Ghost seemed more concerned about this than relieved.  
  
“Something’s not right. This place is usually teeming with Cabal and Vex.Let’s move, quickly. We should be able to find something inside.”   
  
The Exo couldn’t help but feel it was too easy as she entered the complex, footsteps echoing through as she walked along the corridor to a control room, computers long since turned off. There were signs of vandalism, some terminals broken or otherwise stripped, and tucked in a cubby on a far wall, she saw a crate, sealed with an electronic lock. Her Ghost saw this as well, and he perked up, floating over to it.   
  
“Jackpot! Another Guardian left a stash here, it should have a gun inside. Let me just work on that for you.”   
  
She sat in a nearby chair as the Ghost did his work, scanning the crate before beginning to work on it. She found herself running her fingers over the terminal she was sat in front of, and caught herself staring into the blank screen, hand resting on the keyboard almost naturally. Something was telling her to-   
  
“There we go! It’s not much but it’ll- Hey, you good?”   
  
She snapped out of her trance, and took a quizzical look down, before looking up to her Ghost, meeting his eye.   
  
“This is going to sound weird, but I feel like… I’ve been here before. Can you see if this terminal will power on?”   
  
Her Ghost bobbed in agreement, turning and running another scan on the machine as she went to the cache. Rations, she wouldn’t need those. Extra clips were helpful, and a belt to hold them, with a holster. And in that holster was a gun, which she drew. A hand cannon of sorts, one that fit uncomfortably well in her grip. Muscle memory kicked in, and she snapped around, aiming at invisible enemies, finger dancing against the trigger. Oh yeah, she knew how to use this thing. That felt… Good.

“Well, I got it started, but… Well, it’s better if you come take a look.”  
  
She went back to the terminal, the screen now lit up, and scowled when she was met with an authorization screen.

**_PLEASE PRESENT DESIGNATION._ **

She let out a groan, and put her head back. It was frustrating feeling so close to memorizing something, and then having it fall through her fingers.  
  
“Convenient. Curse this memory.”   
  
“If I may make a suggestion… Perhaps you have identification on you? Worth a check.”   
  
She perked up at the Ghost’s suggestion, and gave him an affectionate pat, coaxing him into recoiling again. She had few pockets, but her search bore fruit: an ID card, covered in red dust, and a data drive of some sort, though the years hadn’t been kind to it. She wiped the ID clean, and looked hard at the picture she saw. The picture of her. And the name printed on it.   
  
**_Elsa-2._ **

“That’s… That’s me, isn’t it. My name?  
  
“It’d appear so. Well, that’s one mystery solved, think that’ll get you in?”   
  
“One way to find out, little guy. Give me a second.”   
  
Her fingers danced over the keyboard, entering in her designation, and the computer whirred to life, the machinery inside a surprisingly relieving symphony.   
  
_Elsa. My name is Elsa. At least I have that much._ _  
_ _  
_ The screen changed from a progress bar to the start of a database, and a message welcoming her back.   
  
**Greetings, Elsa-2! You have one unread message.** **  
****  
****Last login attempt, 207 Earth years, 4 Earth months, 16 Earth days.** **  
****  
****Please select a function.** **  
****  
****> Facility Status** **  
****  
****Inbox** **  
****  
****Defense System Manual Override (Requires admin credentials)** **  
****  
****Logout** **  
****  
****  
**“That long… I can’t believe I was dead for-”  
  
Elsa stopped, hand balling into a fist and shaking as she looked away. Two centuries lost to the sands of Mars. She felt a wave of emotion fill her, and let out a shaky sigh. But her Ghost was there, resting on her shoulder as he spoke.   
  
“Hey, it’s alright. You’re here now, and that’s what matters. The Light has given you a second chance, you were meant for something greater. I can leave you be if you need, just- Just be sure you’re ready for anything you might find. Guardians who go hunting their pasts often regret it.”

She nodded her head, letting out another sigh, and pressed the down key three times, before confirming her logout. She stood up from the terminal, and ran her fingers against the grip of her pistol.  
  
“That can wait until later. Let’s go find a way to get in touch with somebody.”   
  
The door before them slid open, once again, to the abandoned complex, and Elsa looked once more over the Martain landscape, her eyes going skyward for the first time, seeing ships flying about, some of a mechanical make, some pyramidic and obsidian in nature. Her Ghost looked with her, and shuddered.   
  
“The Cabal. And… The Darkness. The newest threat to the Light, and the oldest one at the same time. The Darkness triggered the Collapse, and I fear it intends to do it again. The Last City issued an evacuation protocol for Mars, so if we can find a commlink, we can get in touch with another Guardian for an emergency evac. But using comms means-”   
  
“Interference. We’d be leaving a breadcrumb trail.”   
  
“Exactly. You’re sharper than you let on, Elsa. But it’s the best shot we’ve got. Come on, let’s check the main building first.”   
  
\---   
  
The interior of the building was showing signs of enemy influence the further she went in, growths of chitin and organic material lining some walls. Her Ghost told her it was a sign of the Hive, another enemy of the Guardians who fought with the Darkness. But still, all was abandoned, and Elsa was getting the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t for no reason.   
  
“The map says there’s a communications room further in? You’re sure, right?”   
  
“Positive. It should be down the next hallway, on the right. Follow me.”   
  
Her Ghost darted forward, and she followed swiftly after, hand never leaving her gun. As she turned the corner, a glimpse of movement caught her eye, and her thumb flicked the button holding the gun in place out of the clasp, drawing in one motion, gun leveled at the figure’s head, before lowering it. It was just a robot.   
  
“Another Exo?”   
  
“No, a frame. Meant to follow routines. This one’s a maintenance bot, but how it’s still functional is beyond me.”   
  
The robot stood, facing them, and nodded.   
  
“Greetings, Elsa-2. A nice day, is it not?”   
  
Elsa stepped towards the robot, gun lowering down as she pointed at herself.   
  
“You know who I am?”

The robot gave no answer, only resumed cleaning, mop dipping into an empty bucket as it scrubbed at the chitin. It made no other acknowledgment of her, and she just shook her head and moved on, reaching the door to the communications room. Locked, but a biometric scanner was still powered. She placed her hand on it, the cool metal being scanned, and with a beep and a hiss of compressed air, the door slid open.   
  
Her Ghost wasted no time going into the room, looking at all the technology that surrounded them, and sighed.   
  
“It’s everything we need. We can go home. Try unlocking that terminal there.”   
  
Elsa approached the device, which flickered to life in her proximity. Once again, she entered her credentials, but paused when met with another screen.   
  
**Please present administration drive.** **  
****  
**She scowled, before pausing and taking the data drive from her pocket, flicking it open. She hit it against her hand a few times, dislodging some stray dirt, and then plugged it into a slow on the module. There was a moment of loading, then all the devices in the room came to life. Her Ghost was quick to act, moving from terminal to terminal, relief filling his voice.  
  
“All systems active. There’s still some Cabal jamming signals I’ll have to work through, but- Wait a second.”   
  
Elsa approached when he didn’t give her immediate context, looking over him as her eyes scanned the text he was reading on the screen.   
  
“Logs of some sort?”   
  
“A Guardian, and recent. There’s a reason we’re not seeing any Cabal or Vex here. They went for Rasputin, the Warmind, but he’s… Gone. Taken somewhere else. They’re fighting for control of his bunker. I guess even without a Warmind, the weapons systems would be a valuable asset to them. But… There’s more.”   
  
The screen scrolled, and the Ghost cursed.   
  
“The Darkness. It overtook this facility, looking for something. The Guardian lost all contact with this station, said when she came to check, it was wiped clean, but the Darkness doesn’t abandon things so easily. She said Rasputin had a specific subroutine for this base, but she didn’t have the clearance and had to evacuate. But, maybe if I can…”   
  
Multiple screens began popping up as the Ghost began to work, menu after menu navigated in seconds, until met with another screen that he couldn’t progress past.   
  


\--------------------------------------------------------------

  
 **SUBROUTINE: JÖRMUNGANDR INITIATED.** **  
****  
****ADMINISTRATOR APPROVAL REQUIRED.**

\------------------------------------------------------------- **  
****  
**“I can’t progress past this, but from what I can gleam without approval, it could be a way off this forsaken planet. Think your drive will work here, too?”  
  
She took it from her pocket again, her thumb moving the cover to the side.   
  
“One way to find out.”   
  
As she plugged it in, a separate program opened, and the login changed to accepting her cose. Line after line of code began to whiz across the screen, and she and her Ghost stood, transfixed, until they were caught off guard by a hydraulic hiss. Looking up, they saw a panel of the wall at the back of the room open, and a document opened, the code stopping. Her Ghost began to read, faster than she could, she she walked over to the new opening, looking around the corner. A metal corridor, deeper into the complex.   
  
“Elsa, we hit the jackpot. That subroutine, it was an escape plan, and a way to get… Something off the planet. Something important. But what matters is we’ve got a ship, and one with a drive that can make the jump to Earth. I still need to get in touch with the Vangaurd, give me a se-”   
  
Without warning, the building shook, and Elsa caught herself on the wall, looking around. Alarms began playing, and she watched the entrance to the communication room close and seal, as a cool female voice, choppy and distorted, sounded throughout the room.   
  
_“Vex breach detected. Initiating level 3 lockdown.”_ _  
_ _  
_ “I suppose contacting them can wait. We need to go, now!”   
  
She drew her gun, and nodded, before looking with horror through the window of the door to the room at what she saw. The frame cleaning outside looked up to see a chitinous being with a large gun swat it aside, shattering it against the wall, where it twitched and didn’t move. Her eyes met with three, and she called out to her Ghost as it raised its gun.   
  
“We’re going, now!” 

There was another heavy rumble as the wall panel slid behind them, and she ran down the hallway, downwards in hopes she wasn’t too late.

\---

Breaking into the hangar, Elsa put her head on a swivel, looking for any threats. Nothing, but machinery was active, and there was indeed a ship waiting for them, being loaded with what looked like crates of supplies. Her Ghost stayed close to her, looking where she couldn’t, light illuminating what the red of the emergency alarms could not.   
  
“Elsa, look sharp! We’ve got company.”   
  
A smaller version of the being she saw before came running from the darkness, followed by two more, screeching as they ran her way, and almost as if it were reflex, she raised her gun, three light squeezes of the trigger putting bullets into their heads, where they fell. She kept running towards the ship as more screeches sounded around her, more of the fast-running enemies closing in from both sides. There were few boxes left for the frames to load onto the ship, but she watched as one was assailed by the monsters, the crate falling and breaking, medical supplies scattering everywhere. 

“We need to secure that ship! We’re almost there!”  
  
The enemies began closing in on her as she got to the cargo bay, and her Ghost and her began looking for something, anything to help fend off the waves of enemies.   
  
“No weapons, Elsa, but these might help!”   
  
Grenades, a bandolier full of them. She grabbed them a plan forming in her head as she ran for the open cargo door. The enemies were converging now, a solid wave of them approaching fast. With a deep breath, she took the bandolier of grenades, and threw it out towards them, watching it fly over their heads.   
  
Time seemed to slow as she took a deep breath, and a warm feeling filled her entirely, a radiance that filled her from fingertip to her very core. She pulled on this feeling of fire, and raised her hand to the sky. Something - the Light - responded to her call, and a gun of pure Solar energy formed from nothing in her hand. She dropped her hand, one eye shut as she aimed, and a deafening shot sounded as the Solar bullet found its mark on the grenade.   
  
The explosion blew her back off her feet, into a nearby crate, which cracked against her and coaxed a cry of pain out of her. But the enemies were reduced to nothing but ash, and she let out a low laugh as she watched the fiery gun disappear where she had dropped it, looking to her Ghost.   
  
“That another one of the Traveler’s gifts, little Ghost?”   
  
“Yes. It seems you’re a hunter, Elsa. Now, pick yourself up, we’re ready to take off. Best not risk any more Hive coming anytime soon, you’re a one-and-done for the time being.”   
  
She nodded, slowly picking herself up with the box as support. The cargo door shut behind her as she followed her Ghost to the cockpit, where she sat in the pilot’s seat.   
  
“Ever flown before, Elsa?”   
  
“No, but that’s why they invented autopilot, right?”   
  


Her Ghost sighed, and floated over the controls, giving her a scowl before he faced out.  
  
“With how things have gone lately, I’d rather take things into my own hands.”   
  
\---   
  
Some hours passed as she relaxed, letting herself fall into a state of unconsciousness, before waking up some hours later to the inky expanse of space outside the cockpit. Her Ghost was hovering nearby, perking up when she came to, and she shot him a smile.   
  
“I hate to admit you’re right, Elsa, but autopilot kicked in when we got out of Mars’ atmosphere. Seems Rasputin already had this ship programmed to go to the Last City. I let the Vanguard know I have a new Guardian in tow.”   
  
“Well, aren’t you a clever cookie. Thanks for the assist, really. You… Saved my life. Gave me life. I don’t know how to repay you.”   
  
Her Ghost laughed, and floated behind her, checking readings on another screen.   
  
“You can start with giving me a name. You’ve got another 8 hours to figure it out.”   
  
A name. She remembered how important learning her own name was, how validated she felt to have some semblance of identity. Unconsciously, her hand roamed the grip of the pistol she had taken, but she paused when she found a groove in the bottom of the grim, and drew it, turning it upside down to see a word engraved in the bottom.   
  
With a smile, she turned back to her ghost.   
  
“How’s Ace sound?”   
  
Her Ghost paused, in thought, then he turned around, bobbing in agreement.   
  
“Ace is a fine name. It’s a pleasure to work with you, Elsa.”


End file.
